How
much does it cost?
It doesn’t cost anything. We never charge to teach people to ring.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t have good teachers - we do.
However, it is customary in bellringing to teach new ringers for
free.
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Is it dangerous? - Will I get
carried up to the ceiling?
This is a misconception - based on slapstick portrayals of
bellringing in films. Bellringers are not in the habit of getting
carried up to the ceiling. It would only be possible to be lifted
up if one deliberately hung onto the rope at the wrong time. All
learners are taught basic safety procedures (including letting go!)
and if these are followed then ringing is a reasonably safe hobby.
No-one is left to handle a bell on their own until they can do so
safely without assistance. The bells themselves are securely
mounted in a very strong oak and steel frame with two solid floors
between them and the ringers.
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What is so special about bell
ringing? - surely it’s just pulling a rope?
Ringing bells is very ancient indeed - and is found all over the
world.
However, Change Ringing on English Church bells is something very
special and unique. It is only practised in this country and in a
few churches in places like Australia, Canada and the United States
- influenced by the Anglican Church.
At the end of the Middle Ages, and during the Tudor period, a
special technology was developed for mounting the bells so that they
could turn full circle while ringing. This enabled ringers to gain
precise control of the bells so that they could be rung at a
particular speed - in time with other bells, bigger or larger (tuned
to a musical scale) - and could be made to change speed to sound
before or after other bells.
These developments made it possible for the glorious sound of
"Rounds" - the repeated rhythmic pattern of a descending scale which
is so characteristic of English wedding bells - to be rung. Then
"Change Ringing" developed so that regular and rhythmic patterns
could be rung. The wonderful swirling pattern of bells ringing out
over the countryside from an English Church tower is a unique part
of our heritage. It is a very special part of our English Heritage
- as "English" as "fish and chips" and "morris dancing"!
You will not hear it anywhere on the Continent. The great bells in
Continental Churches cannot be made to ring at particular speed in
time with the other bells. The Continental bells produce a glorious
random sound because all the bells all ring at different speeds and
clash and strike over each other. There is nothing wrong with the
sound - but this is totally different from our special ancient art
of English Change Bell Ringing. You may also hear the beautiful
sound of a Carillon of Bells in some parts of the Continent.
Carillons are sets of bells are hung mouth downwards and struck by
hammers driven either by a keyboard device or an automated
mechanism. The sound is very interesting - and fairly "dainty" -
but again is very different from our English Tradition.
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What are the benefits?
It’s good gentle, rhythmic, physical exercise. It also helps
the concentration and provides excellent mental exercise. It’s
very sociable and good for team-work- imagine trying to play a tune
on a giant xylophone with each note being played by a different
person. It is interesting and absorbing, great fun, relaxing but
challenging and for the most part non-competitive. An ideal hobby
for people of any age - from school-children to the retired.
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I don’t suppose I’m strong enough!
This is a common misunderstanding. Change ringing bells are heavy
(in some cathedrals they are very heavy indeed - Liverpool Cathedral
has one weighing 4 tons - over 4,000 kilograms!). In most churches
they typically weigh several hundredweight (cwt). It would not be
possible to ring them by brute force or strength. Instead the
English method of ringing relies on the weight of the bell itself
doing most of the work. The ringer learns the skill of gently
applying pressure to the rope at the correct point in the rotation,
firstly to bring the bell to stop at the required height each
stroke, and secondly to add just enough extra impetus to the
swinging bell to ensure that it rises to the required height at the
next stroke. Even quite young children can be taught to ring bells
(Note that many towers cannot teach anyone under the age of 12
[sometimes 10]- for insurance reasons).
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But I’m not musical
This is another common misunderstanding. There are plenty of good
ringers who are tone deaf! Of course a peal of bells is a musical
instrument (very loud and public - and entirely without
amplification!) but you don’t have to be musical to ring them. A
sense of rhythm helps - but this can be developed during the
learning process
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But I’m not good at mathematics!
This is an interesting question which people sometimes ask us. The
idea probably comes from people seeing those funny tables of numbers
that advanced ringers study when they are learning a new change
ringing method. But in fact no special knowledge of mathematics is
needed to learn change ringing. It consists of simple changes
whereby the order in which the bells are rung is altered
progressively as a pair of bells which are ringing one after the
other "change place". By learning a set of simple rules as to when
to change, we learn a method.
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Can anyone ring? Do I have to be a
certain age - or very clever?
Most people can learn to ring. As we have seen, you don’t have to
be particularly strong, or musical, or mathematical. You need to be
able to stand for a few minutes and be capable of catching the rope
at the right time. You must also be able to lift your hands above
your head. You certainly don’t have to be at all clever to learn.
Many of us are fairly simple souls! You just need to be able to
follow basic instructions and to pay attention to what you are
doing.
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What about disabilities?
It depends on the disability. Blind people make excellent ringers.
This indicates that hearing is the most useful faculty for ringing
well. People who have hearing difficulties can also learn to ring,
but those who are profoundly deaf have to rely entirely on
"rope-sight" - watching the other ropes and judging when to pull in
order to "strike" the note in the right place. This is not so easy
as relying on hearing - but not impossible. Other ringers with
particular disabilities may be able to learn to ring - depending on
their disability and on the layout of the tower. For example, a
person unable to climb a narrow spiral staircase would unfortunately
not be able to get into some ringing chambers. However there are
many churches where the ringing is from the Ground Floor - so access
would be possible.
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Will it damage my hearing?
It shouldn’t do! Of course the noise up in the room where the bells
are housed is very loud indeed. But we normally have no reason to
go anywhere near the bells when they are ringing. Most bellringing
towers have the bells a long way above the ringers and with two
solid floors in between. Down in the ringing chamber the sound of
the bells is not particularly loud. It is usually loud enough that
the ringers can hear the bells (otherwise it would be difficult to
ring) but it is quiet enough that a person can easily carry on a
conversation in a normal voice.
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How will it help me keep fit?
It is good rhythmic exercise which stimulates the heart-rate and
breathing. Climbing the steps up to the ringing chamber is also
good exercise and additionally helps tone the leg muscles - which
are not used so much during ringing itself! It is said that ringing
is no more demanding than cleaning shoes. This may be true -
depending on how dirty the shoes are and how many pairs of shoes are
to be cleaned! It is certainly a much more enjoyable keep-fit
exercise than cleaning a pair of shoes!!
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What sort of time commitment do I
have to make?
Most towers practice on one evening a week for about an hour and a
half. It is good to practice as regularly as possible in order to
ensure steady progress. Accomplished ringers are expected to help
out with the ringing before Sunday service, whenever they are
available to do so. In most towers this is usually once each
Sunday. Occasionally there will be a wedding, usually on a
Saturday.
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How long does it take to learn?
This depends on the learner, and how much time they can commit.
We often find that younger people pick it up more quickly but this
is not universally true. Older people, for example those who are
coming up to retirement or have already retired, usually find that
they pick up this absorbing hobby reasonably quickly.
An average learner might expect to be able to ring a bell without
assistance after several weeks of learning. To be able to ring
"Rounds" fairly accurately (keeping reasonable time with the rest of
the band) usually takes several months from starting to learn. The
next steps into "Called Changes" and simple "Method Ringing" will
take several months.
Within a few months of starting, most ringers are able to get by
sufficiently well to be able to contribute to Sunday Service
Ringing. Many ringers are content just to stay at a fairly
elementary level and just ring for services at the local tower.
Others are keen to go on learning ever more complicated methods and,
after some years, to progress to ringing the more tricky bells such
as the great cathedral rings of 12 bells.
Those who enjoy exploring new challenges find that there is no end
to learning about English change ringing. There is always something
new to learn and one lifetime would not be enough to learn and
master all the methods that have been devised.
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I’m anxious in new situations - Will
people look down on me as a learner?
Not at all! Ringers are delighted when new people start to learn.
You will always find a welcome in any tower. Ringers tend to come
from a wide variety of backgrounds as well. Ringing is a great
social leveller. "Showing off" is not respected in ringing circles
- so there is no pressure to pretend that you are better than you
are.
Note: When you first visit do not be put off if ringers look serious
and intense and do not talk to you when they are ringing. This does
not mean they are grumpy or anti-social. They may be concentrating
hard - but enjoying it really! The only person who normally speaks
during the ringing is the one who is "conducting" - otherwise it
would be very confusing and distracting. You may hear the conductor
shouting to put someone right! But this is normal practice to make
sure that none of the words are lost. No offence is meant.
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Do I have to be a church-goer?
No.
At different times in the history of English Church bell ringing,
the ringers have had different amounts of involvement in the life of
the church. In one of the heydays of ringing - the eighteenth
century - many of the ringers never went to church and treated it
purely as an interesting hobby. Then in the nineteenth century
there was a swing in the opposite direction and the rowdier elements
in the ringing chamber were expected to behave in a more seemly
way. Barrels of beer in the belfry were frowned on - and people
were fined for ringing wearing their spurs and fancy headgear!
Actually the fines were usually paid in beer!!
Nowadays the majority of ringers are also church members. But not
everyone is. Some may belong to a different Christian
denomination. Others may not be religious at all, or may follow
another spiritual path. There is no compulsion to attend the
services and even those who do attend may not stay for all the
services that they ring for. You will be welcome to come and ring -
whether you are also an active member of the local Anglican church -
or whether you just come to help out with the ringing.
Everybody who rings is naturally respectful of the church that
provides the bells and all ringers ring as well as they can to
ensure that the bells are rung well for the services.
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So what is the purpose of ringing?
In the strictest sense the primary purpose of the Ringing is to
announce the services and call the parishioners to attend them.
This is right and proper.
In a broader sense the bells produce a pure musical sound that stirs
the hearts of all who hear them. The uplifting sound transcends any
artificial boundaries of sect or religion. Most of us love to hear
them whatever our beliefs - because they stir something deep,
perhaps something deeply spiritual, in all of us. And we are
grateful and want to continue the tradition.
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What sort of traditions are there?
There are many interesting bellringing traditions - too many to
enumerate here.
Bellringing was traditionally used to announce or signal special
events. Different patterns of bells were used for flood or fire
warnings. A bell was rung in most towns to warn people to dowse
their fires for the night (French "couvre feu" - which is the origin
of our word "curfew"). Another bell would have been used to warn
people that the towns water supply had become polluted - perhaps by
a dead animal in the well (the origin of the rhyme "Ding Dong Bell,
Pussy’s in the Well"). Much of this is now just a folk memory.
However many towers still ring for Harvest and New Year - continuing
a very ancient tradition. The bells also ring out to announce times
of great joy - such as weddings, or to express sorrow - as in the
case of the dignified "half-muffled" ringing, sometimes used at
funerals.
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Whereabouts can one ring bells?
Practice night at St Giles Exhall is Thursday
7.30 pm - 9.00 pm (except the 1st Thursday of the
month). Viv is always on the look out for
new members for the band - both young and older! She can be contacted on (024) 7631 4064.
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I’m interested -
how can I learn to ring?
Bellringing is a practical craft which you can only learn by doing
it. The best way to learn is to turn up at your local tower on a
practice night and ask to be taught.
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